Neo-Nazi found with home 'armoury' guilty of terrorism offences
Alan Edward came to the attention of counter-terrorism officers after posting a video of a National Action rally
- Published
A neo-Nazi who amassed an "armoury" at his home in Stirlingshire has been found guilty of crimes including plans to commit an act of terrorism.
Alan Edward, who had nearly 28,000 followers on social media, had discussed an attack on a LBGT group in Falkirk, the High Court in Stirling heard.
The 54-year-old was arrested after armed police surrounded his end-terrace house in Redding, Falkirk, in September 2022 and broke down his front door.
He denied all the offences, but a jury found him guilty of charges under the Terrorism Act, racism, anti-Semitism, holocaust denial and breach of the peace.
The trial heard that Edward wrote the "the quickest way to someone's heart is with a high power 7.62mm round".
Police found weapons and equipment including a crossbow, 14 knives - some with Nazi and SS insignia, machetes, a tomahawk, a samurai sword, knuckledusters, a catapult, an extendable baton and a stun gun.
They also found an air pistol, an SS-style skull mask, goggles and a respirator, fighting gloves with hardened knuckles, pellets, ball bearings, and hunting tips for crossbow arrows.
Prosecutors said it amounted to "an armoury" of weapons.
Edward also had an indoor cannabis plantation that he was growing to sell.
The court heard he possessed and expressed "a set of ideals with a neo-Nazi outlook, incorporating notions of white supremacy, the notion of racial purity of whites, racism, anti-semitism, and hatred of homosexuals and transgender people".
Sinister exchanges
A document found on his computer referred to Norweigian neo-Nazi mass murderer Anders Breivik as "Saint Anders".
Checks on his WhatsApp account found he had been messaging an associate in nearby Grangemouth about the proposed attack on an LBGT group.
In a series of exchanges described by the prosecution as "incredibly sinister", he said: "They have been pushing their luck for years, now they will pay in blood."
He added: "We should get masked up and go do a few of them in at their little gay club."
Other messages targeted communists and Jews.
The court also heard that Edward had two accounts on Gab, a free speech social media platform popular with the far right.
He came to the attention of counter-terrorism investigators after posting a video of a National Action rally held in 2016 - shortly before it became the first far-right group to be proscribed in the UK under the Terrorism Act.
Prosecutor Paul Kearney KC said Edward was "a man who with clear neo-Nazi ideals - preparing for an act of terrorism which would include an ideologically-driven incident of serious violence".
Judge Fiona Tait deferred sentence until 21 October at the High Court in Edinburgh.